


The Close-Up Raid

by upon_a_painted_ocean



Category: The Rat Patrol
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Military Shenanigans, not a fic per se?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-10-28 19:21:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10837755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/upon_a_painted_ocean/pseuds/upon_a_painted_ocean
Summary: Troy obtains a camera, which quickly becomes common property among the Rat Patrol.





	1. Exhibit A

**Author's Note:**

> Image descriptions of the resultant photos, presented as though they were in the collections of a small-town historical museum.

Collections > Photography

 

 **Collection Number:** 2004.23

 **Collection Description:** Collection of 21 black  & white photographs, likely taken in North Africa. The collection includes multiple photographs of men in army uniforms, as well as a number featuring archaeological ruins. Some of the photographs include notations, in various hands, in blue ink on the reverse. There appear to be four individuals featured throughout the collection.

 **Subject Period:** Second World War

 **Category:** Photographs

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.1

 **Object Description:** Two Jeeps with rear-mounted machine guns parked in an oasis. One is partially covered with camouflage netting. 

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.2

 **Object Description:** Two soldiers- one sitting on the hood of a Jeep, shirtless; the other standing directly in front of the Jeep and wearing a (probably red) Zouave kepi. The one seated has his arms around the other. Both are smiling toward the camera. (see 2004.23.3)

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.3

 **Object Description:** Taken in close conjunction to (2004.23.2), a photograph of the same two soldiers. Two soldiers exchanging a kiss. The soldier in the Zouave kepi has turned slightly to face the one still sitting on the Jeep. Writing in blue ink on reverse of photograph (likely original to the photo) says ‘ _Tully & Hitch, on patrol_’.

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.4

 **Object Description:** Silhouette of a soldier standing atop a sand dune. He is shading his eyes with one hand and holding a gun in a relaxed manner with the other. Writing on reverse says ‘ _Tully, standing watch_ ’.

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.5

 **Object Description:** Photograph taken at night. Shows two sergeants sitting in firelight; one is leaning his head against the other’s shoulder.

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.6

 **Object Description:** View of an oasis. The remains of a stone structure are visible, partially obscured by drifted sand.

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.7

 **Object Description:** A close up of the same ruins as seen in (2004.23.6). Sand has been cleared from the base, revealing a series of indistinct faded carvings. A canteen has been propped against the stone, apparently to provide a scale comparison.

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.8

 **Object Description:** Members of a desert patrol stopped to rest in the heat of the day; two Jeeps are parked beside a dune. A soldier wearing an Australian slouch hat is sitting in the shade of one Jeep’s wheel, with a dark-haired sergeant lying across his lap. The reclining sergeant has looked up from his book to grin at the camera.

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.9

 **Object Description:** Three soldiers standing with arms around each other’s shoulders; two wearing various pieces of American equipment, while the one at centre is dressed in British uniform. Each is wearing a piece of non-regulation headgear- from L-R: a British commando’s beret, an Australian slouch hat, and a Zouave kepi. Writing on the reverse has the men labeled as ‘ _left to right- Troy, Moffitt, and Tully_ ’.

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.10

 **Object Description:** A soldier asleep at a table, evidently in the middle of completing a report which is open on the table. His head is resting on his folded arms and a blanket has been draped over his shoulders. Writing on reverse reads ‘ _Goodnight, Sarge!_ ’

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.11

 **Object Description:** Two soldiers asleep together in the same bunk, one still wearing his glasses. The taller of the pair is partially on top of the other.

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.12

 **Object Description:** A small dog, sitting beside a jerrycan. Someone has dressed the dog in a beret, a pair of goggles, and a dark-coloured neckerchief.

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.13

 **Object Description:** Photograph of a blond soldier, wearing glasses, with the remains of popped bubblegum stuck to the lenses and his face.

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.14

 **Object Description:** Photograph of a British sergeant studying a map which is spread on the hood of a Jeep. A radio set is also sitting on the vehicle’s hood.

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.15

 **Object Description:** What appears to be a fragment of a mosaic tile floor, with two remaining stone walls beside it. A series of coordinates given on the reverse of the photo have been smudged beyond legibility.

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.16

 **Object Description:** A soldier wearing an Australian slouch hat standing on the hood of a Jeep, with a second Jeep visible in the background. He is looking through binoculars to the right of the frame. Two other men are visible in the background, cleaning or repairing the Jeep’s mounted machine gun.

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.17

 **Object Description:** Photograph of a sergeant giving another soldier a piggyback ride. The soldier being carried is waving his hat above his head. Both have garlands of paper flowers around their necks. Writing on reverse says ‘ _Sam & Hitch win the Derby_’.

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.18

 **Object Description:** A blond private with his back to camera, cooking what appears to be scrambled eggs over a campfire. Two sergeants, seated on the other side of the fire, scowl at the camera over the mess-tin mugs they are clutching. The writing on the reverse says ‘ _Good Morning!_ ’, with a small smiling sun drawn beside it.

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.19

 **Object Description:** Photograph of a pair of dark-haired soldiers curled up in a bunk under a single blanket. Writing on the reverse says ‘ _Sarge & Sarge- aren’t they cute?_’.

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.20

 **Object Description:** A soldier wearing a uniform jacket without a shirt underneath is shown giving a haircut to a sergeant in British Army uniform. The sergeant appears to be reading aloud from a book by T.E. Lawrence.

 

 **Accession Number:** 2004.23.21

 **Object Description:** Four soldiers standing beside a Jeep. The photograph was taken mid-conversation; all four are leaning against each other laughing. Writing on reverse says ‘ _US! Photo taken thanks to Andy Petersen_ ’.

 


	2. Behind the Scenes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some of the scenes that go along with the photos.

_#2004.23.9_

Hitch fiddled with the camera lens and swiped at it with a grubby shirttail. There was a brief scuffle and a faint “ _Oi!_ ” from Moffitt, then Hitch yelped in surprise as his cap was whisked off his head and was quickly replaced by the weight of a helmet plunked down instead. He looked up in annoyance, but couldn’t keep from snorting with laughter at the sight that greeted him.

Troy, Moffitt, and Tully were standing in a row, their arms thrown around each other’s shoulders, none of them wearing their typical non-regulation headgear. Troy was fidgeting with Moffitt’s beret, tugging with his free hand at the slightly-too-small band, while Moffitt was lost under Troy’s slouch hat, his ears the only thing preventing it from slipping over his eyes.

“How can you stand to wear this thing in the heat? It’s made of black wool for crying out loud!” groused Troy.

“It’s an issued piece of my uniform; which begs the question, how do you manage to get away with wearing an Australian hat?”

Tully tipped Hitch’s kepi to a jaunty angle on his own head and winked at him. Hitch rolled his eyes and brought the scene into focus through the camera lens.

_#2004.23.11_

“Jack, have you seen my camer-” Troy strode into the quarters he shared with Moffitt, and stopped short just inside the door.

Moffitt turned to shush his friend, gesturing at the bed against the far wall with the hand not holding a certain borrowed camera. “Don’t wake them; they must have fallen asleep waiting for us. Aren’t they cute?”

Tully mumbled from where his face was currently pressed into Hitch’s chest, “I heard that. Just wait until I get a picture of the pair of you, curled up like two kittens.”

_#2004.23.18_

“Smile, Sarge! You too, Sarge,” said Tully as he squinted through the viewfinder in the bright morning sun.

“Surely it’s against some clause of the Geneva convention to force a man to face the war before he’s had his tea?”

“It’s not the war, it’s just breakfast,” Hitch supplied. “Although I guess it might be hard to tell the difference with these rations.”

Both sergeants glowered over the cups of respective caffeinated beverages they were clutching.

Tully snapped the photo.


End file.
